Jewish teens prepare to combat antisemitism on campus with history, humor and courage

Jewish high school student leaders gathered for three days of fun and learning as part of the Jewish Student Union's (JSU) annual Presidents Conference.The event brought together student club presidents from across the U.S.

with the goal of preparing them to combat antisemitism not only at their current high schools, but also on their future college campuses."Jewish students have increasingly been feeling isolated, bullied, and threatened by students at their public high schools," National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) International director Rabbi Micah Greenland told Fox News Digital."And the fact that they have JSU spaces to gather in makes those clubs all the more important as community spaces of gathering.

For Jewish students and their allies."Greenland said he expected students to leave the conference with the ability to "more effectively reach out to their peers" when they return home.OPINION: BEYOND THE SUPER BOWL AD: WHY JEWISH TEENS NEED MORE THAN A MOMENT TO FIGHT ANTISEMITISM IN SCHOOLSJewish advocate Tessa Veksler talks to a high school student at the Jewish Student Union's annual Presidents Conference in November 2026.(Warren Cohn)Rabbi Derek Gormin, who serves as a managing director at JSU, explained that the organization started at a high school in California and has since grown to more than 500 clubs since its inception.

He also emphasized the importance of peer-to-peer interactions, something that JSU prioritized."Every club is run by teens.JSU has a staff internationally, but we can't show up to a school and say we'd like to start a club," Gormin told Fox News Digital.

"Student to student, peer to peer, there's an unbelievable power that's created when they work together and that movement continues to grow from that peer-to-peer power."The emphasis on "peer-to-peer power" was demonstrated in real time at the conference with Hillel Kornwasser, an activist and high school student from New Jersey, serving as one of the presenters."For me, i...